Reflection IN and ON Action

I've been looking at the reader on reflection (Akinleye, 2010) and I came across Donald Schon's (Schon, 1987) idea of 'reflection-in-action' and 'reflection-on-action'. I thought the concept was very interesting so I decided to look at how I think I currently reflect, specifically in relation to my work in a performance.

I think it is firstly important to differentiate between certain types of performance. For example, I do not think I reflect the same way when I am dancing as when I am acting. I am therefore going to discuss these two types of performance separately.

When I dance I definitely reflect-in-action. I believe it would be impossible to dance well and not do so. I am constantly assessing where my weight is, what my spacing is, my speed and whether or not I am in time with the music, and my technical execution of the steps. I correct these things as I go to make sure I am giving the best possible performance. It is a conscious and deliberate process that I imagine I have progressively improved at since I started dancing at the age of 6. A specific example of this would be how I reflected during my recent Shrek audition (see my earlier bog). We danced in groups of eight and space was tight so I had to constantly assess where everyone was and adjust my position so I could still be seen by the panel but obviously continue to dance and perform at the same time. We were also asked to freestyle for two counts of eight at the end of the routine. I began trying a particular move but noticed that the person next to me was doing something more impressive so I changed what I was doing. I wanted to do something even more impressive to take the focus away from then and on to me. Again I was reflecting-in-action.

I am not sure whether I then ever go away and reflect-on-action after I have danced. Perhaps when something has gone wrong and my reflecting-in-action didn't help me correct it immediately I will assess what went wrong and how I would change it and make sure it was better next time. I would usually do this by physically repeating the movements again and again to get it into my 'muscle memory'. From the reader and the work of Howard Gardner (Gardner, 1983) I have discovered that this is called 'Kinaesthetic learning'. In circumstances like this it is more about the way something feels on my body rather than what I think about it.

Thinking about the way I reflect when dancing seemed relatively easy compared to thinking about the way I reflect when I am acting. At first glance I would say I primarily reflect-on-action in this circumstance. After a performance I will consider what was successful and what wasn't. Sometimes this will be based on my personal feelings, sometimes it will be based on the audience's reaction and sometimes it will be prompted by a comment from a director. I don't think I ever use a particular process (like journal writing) it is normally just mentally reliving the event.

With regards to reflecting-in-action whilst acting I initially thought that I could not possibly do this. After all, I've always been told that too much thought and self awareness is a sure fire way to destroy a character you are trying to create. Too much reflection in this instance would therefore surely be extremely inhibiting and have the exact opposite effect to the one intended.

After reflecting on this for a few days I have come to believe that no matter how good and actor you are there is still always a certain amount of 'awareness' whilst remaining in character. An awareness of the audience and its energy, your fellow actors and their energies, and of course your stage craft (whether you are in light, vocally projecting or other technical aspects). This type of awareness is almost instinctual when I perform. I am not sure how conscious or deliberate the process is. Can it therefore be considered reflection? Is it not just reaction?

In the reader (Akinleye, 2010) Adesola  uses the phrase 'tacit knowledge' and describes it as as a 'knowledge you can not explain in words'. She says that 'reflection-in-action touches on another part of reflective practice, engaging and recognising tacit knowledge'. Is this 'awareness' I have talked about whilst acting a form of tacit knowledge? The energy that exists between fellow performers or performers and their audiences is (just as Adesola says) unexplainable. You feed off each other, you effect each other, you have control over each other.

A question I have been asking myself is, "does becoming consciously aware of this knowledge and trying to harness it actually benefit the performer or the performance?" It could be that by deliberately tuning in to these forms of knowledge you achieve a level of performance that was previously unavailable to you. It could also be that by focusing too much on this tacit knowledge you destroy its usefulness. At the campus session we talked about how an audience's energy level has an affect on the performers and the performance. This may only be very subtle but it does happen and can be useful tool. However, if as a performer you began to deliberately try to assess the audience's reaction whilst performing it could lead you to make some very odd choices. You could perhaps over perform to compensate for what you believe to be a bad reception or you might begin to play everything for laughs because you believe the audience finds you funny. I think both of these would be detrimental to a performance.

I am still unsure of the way I feel about reflection-in-action in relation to acting. Perhaps it is connected to the way I have been trained and the things that have been said to me regarding effective characterisation. It is certainly worth further thought and I am going to consider ways that deliberately noticing and harnessing my tacit knowledge may benefit a performance. Let me know if you have any thoughts on what I've said.